Senin, 21 Januari 2013

Using Gerunds and Infinitives

Gerunds and
infinitives are verb forms that can take the place of a noun in a sentence. The
following guidelines and lists will help you figure out whether a gerund or
infinitive is needed.

Following a verb (gerund or infinitive)

Both gerunds
and infinitives can replace a noun as the object of a verb. Whether you use a
gerund or an infinitive depends on the main verb in the sentence. Consult the
lists below to find out which form to use following which verbs.

I expectto have the report done by Friday.

[INFINITIVE]

I anticipatehaving the report done by Friday.

[GERUND]

Some common verbs followed by a gerund (note that
phrasal verbs, marked here with *, always fall into this category):

acknowledge

She acknowledgedreceiving assistance.

* accuse
of

He was
accused ofsmuggling contraband goods.

admit

They admittedfalsifying the data.

advise

The author
advisesundertaking further study.

anticipate

He anticipateshaving trouble with his supervisor.

appreciate

I appreciatedhaving a chance to read your draft.

avoid

He avoidedanswering my question.

complete

I finally completedwriting my thesis.

consider

They will considergranting you money.

defer

She deferredwriting her report.

delay

We delayedreporting the results until we were sure.

deny

They deniedcopying the information.

discuss

They discussedrunning the experiments again.

entail

This
review procedure entailsrepeating the test.

* look
after

He will look
aftermailing the tickets.

* insist
on

He insisted
onproofreading the article again.

involve

This
procedure involvestesting each sample twice.

justify

My results
justifytaking drastic action.

mention

The author
mentionsseeing this event.

* plan on

They had planned
onattending the conference.

postpone

The
committee has postponedwriting the report.

recall

I cannot recallgetting those results before.

resent

He resentedspending so much time on the project.

recommend

She recommendsreading Marx.

resist

The writer
resistsgiving any easy answers.

risk

She riskslosing her viewing time.

sanction

They will
not sanctioncopying without permission.

suggest

I suggestrepeating the experiment.

* take
care of

He will take
care ofsending it to you.

tolerate

She can't toleratewaiting for results.

Some common verbs followed by an infinitive:

afford

We cannot affordto hesitate.

agree

The
professors agreedto disagree.

appear

The
results appearto support your theory.

arrange

They had arrangedto meet at noon.

beg

I begto differ with you.

care

Would you careto respond?

claim

She claimsto have new data.

consent

Will you consentto run for office?

decide

When did
he decideto withdraw?

demand

I demandto see the results of the survey.

deserve

She deservesto have a fair hearing.

expect

The
committee expectsto decide by tomorrow.

fail

The trial failedto confirm his hypothesis.

hesitate

I hesitateto try the experiment again.

hope

What do
you hopeto accomplish?

learn

We have learnedto proceed with caution.

manage

How did
she manageto find the solution?

neglect

The author
neglectedto provide an index.

need

Do we needto find new subjects?

offer

We could offerto change the time of the meeting.

plan

They had plannedto attend the conference.

prepare

He was not
preparedto give a lecture.

pretend

I do not pretendto know the answer.

promise

They promiseto demonstrate the new equipment.

refuse

She refusedto cooperate any longer.

seem

Something seemsto be wrong with your design.

struggle

We struggledto understand her point of view.

swear

He swearsto tell the truth.

threaten

The team threatenedto stop their research.

volunteer

Will you volunteerto lead the group?

wait

We could
not waitto hear the outcome.

want

She did
not wantto go first.

wish

Do you wishto participate?

Following a preposition (gerund only)

Gerunds can
follow a preposition; infinitives cannot.

Can you
touch your toes withoutbending your knees?

He was fined
fordriving over the speed limit.

She got the
money byselling the car.

A corkscrew
is a tool fortaking corks out of bottles.

Note: Take care
not to confuse the preposition "to" with an infinitive form, or with
an auxiliary form such as have to, used to, going to

He went
back towriting his paper.

[PREPOSITION
+ GERUND]

I used
tolive in Mexico.

[AUXILIARY
+ VERB]

I wantto go home.

[VERB +
INFINITIVE]

Following an indirect object (infinitive only)

Some verbs
are followed by a pronoun or noun referring to a person, and then an
infinitive. Gerunds cannot be used in this position.